Eldorado Park residents demand justice for Nathaniel Julies, a disabled teenager who was shot by police, 28 August 2020. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
President Cyril Ramaphosa has called upon the community of Eldorado Park, Johannesburg to assist the police in revealing facts following the shooting of 16-year-old Nathaniel Julius allegedly by a police officer.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening, 26 August 2020.
Ramaphosa offered his condolences to the family of Julius, who had a disability, and said the violent death of any young person was “a matter of concern”.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the family and neighbours of Nathaniel who has, as a 16-year-old, been deprived of a future and whose tragic death has given rise to anger and unrest in a community that deserves better,” he said.
The president said that while communities had a right to express dissent, anger should not spill over into action that could worsen the trauma already experienced by citizens.
“Justice can only prevail if community workers work with our criminal justice system to address alleged injustice or abuse,” he added.
In a statement on Friday, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) demanded that the police who allegedly shot and killed Julius to be suspended with immediate effect.
“The police officer must be immediately put to jail with no bail, and he must be criminally prosecuted.
“As the EFF, we will make sure that the deceased finds justice, and we will not rest until his killers are in jail.
“We will not tolerate or entertain any report post investigations that seeks to whitewash the actions of the police like the SANDF did with the case of Collins Khosa, like the Marikana Commission did with the murder of the 34 mineworkers in Marikana,” the party said.
Meanwhile, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) called on the Ipid to prioritise justice for Julius.
“The Ipid must thoroughly investigate circumstances which led to his death and bring to book the officer who took his life,” the ATM said in a statement on Friday.
The ATM also called on the police ministry to use restraint when policing communities.
Gauteng community safety MEC Faith Mazibuko on Thursday visited the family of the 16-year-old and confirmed that the docket was removed from the Eldorado Park police station because the police cannot investigate each other, Soweto Urban reported.
Mazibuko said that the stories that they were hearing in relation to what transpired did not correlate because the police had their own account of events which was different from what the community was saying.
“The sooner we allow the Ipid to investigate, interview witnesses. Justice must be served, but it must be served with the correct measures so that we do not end up coming to a wrong conclusion,” she said.
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